Close
  1. Home
  2. News
  3. Latest News
  4. Debating Takes Off

01/01

Debating Takes Off

Debating has taken off at South Hampstead this term, with plenty of successes in regional rounds of national competitions.

The term began eventfully, with twelve South Hampstead students taking part in LSE Juniors, a debating competition for students in Years 7 to 10. Nadia, in the Lower Sixth, also participated as a judge. Our young debaters performed very strongly. As five of our six teams were novices, they were eligible to compete in a separate, novice final, open to the 28 novice teams competing. Two South Hampstead teams broke to compete in the novice final: Juliana and Eliza, who eventually won, and Edie and Phoebe (all in Year 10). They also received certificates for coming in the top 10 for their total points as individual speakers over the course of the day, out of 68 eligible novice speakers.

After this stellar start, the momentum continued, as Nadia and Jane (Lower Sixth), competed in the second round of the ESU Schools’ Mace. Out of the four competing teams, Nadia and Jane were announced as the winners, meaning that they will progress to the Regional Final, which takes place next half term. They performed extremely well in their debate, opposing the motion, which read: This house believes that no essential service should be provided on a for-profit basis.

More successes came in the Oxford Schools North London Regional Round, where six South Hampstead students competed against a wide range of students from other schools. For this competition, Nadia (Lower Sixth) teamed up with Juliana (Year 10), and the pair broke to reach Oxford Schools Finals Day, which will take place at the Oxford Union in March.

Beyond this, South Hampstead also took six students to participate in the Central London regional round of Cambridge Schools, two students to compete in the International Competition for Young Debaters and one student to take part in the GDST’s Chrystall Prize for Public Speaking. Finally, we took 17 girls to City of London School for Girls for a friendly fixture, which saw Nadia and Juliana continue their success as a pair, as they won both of their debates. This fixture also gave our younger debaters an opportunity to compete, as we brought six Year 7 and 8s, along with seven Year 10s and four Year 12s, three of whom acted as judges. These competitions have been particularly valuable in helping our debaters to gain confidence and experience.

Next half term promises to be equally action-packed, with South Hampstead students competing in the ESU Mace Regional Final, Oxford Schools Finals Day, Debate Mate, Durham Schools, friendly fixtures with City of London School for Girls and University College School, and the second SHHS Local Schools’ Friendly Competition, in conjunction with the ESU. The students are also excited for House Debating – which will involve five debates across different year groups, with each house competing for points – as well as the Staff vs. Students Showcase Debate.

 

You may also be interested in...